Classic Systems Emulated : The Macintosh (Lotus Jazz)

People were ecstatic when Lotus Software, along with Microsoft, became software partners working alongside Apple to bring Macintosh applications to there new platform. 

For many, this excitement was justified. Lotus 1-2-3 had taken the PC world by storm. With it's success, the IBM PC/XT became a staple in corporate offices around the country. Would Lotus Software transform the Macintosh in the same way they transformed the PC?

With this excitement, everybody was asking the following: "When will Lotus 123 for the Mac arrive". However, that excitement turned to a puzzled and dumbfounded look when the company announced that they were not going to release 123 for the Mac. Lotus Software intended on redefining the Mac through a integrated software package with a very intriguing name: Jazz.

In retrospect, Lotus Software release Jazz is considered one of the dumbest decisions every made in the field of computing. Everybody wanted a version of Lotus 123 for the Mac. Because Lotus Software didn't deliver a version of 123 at the beginning of the Mac's release, Microsoft Excel would quickly become the spreadsheet of choice for the new platform. Lotus Software did eventually release the Mac version of 123 in 1991. By that point though, it was too little, way to late (even though it was a powerful and capable spreadsheet).

At the time though, their was plenty that made from Lotus's POV. One of the reasons why 1-2-3 was so responsive on the IBM PC was because that program was written in Intel Assembly language for maximum performance and minimum memory footprint. It would have been a monumental undertaking to translate Intel x86 code to it's Motorola 68000 counterpart. Thus, from Lotus's perspective, it was simply easier just to write a new Mac program from scratch.  

Also, Lotus Software's decision to pursue integrated software actually made a lot of sense at the time. Integrated software programs were the rage in 1985. Programs like AppleWorks on the IIe were making huge dividends for Apple while establishing the IIe within corporate offices alongside those PC/XT's. Also, the new user would be more budget minded after spending an astronomical amount of money for their Mac, so aiming at the integrated software market made a lot of sense. Lotus Software would get expertise making a word-processing and database package as well, along with the spreadsheet. Jazz, was high anticipated when released in 1985. However, upon release, things quickly worked against them.

Copy Protection

Unfortunately, Lotus Software had absolute no idea of how the budget software market worked. The company made many monumental mistakes that quickly tanked their new program. There was enough copy protection for one to shake a fist at. On one hand, copy-protection was very common during this time. Microsoft Word 1.0 for the Macintosh had very annoying copy protection as well, but most were willing to tolerate it because Word is a very powerful application. I'm not feeling jazzed about Jazz. By the time of Jazz's release, Microsoft was already moving away from copy protection. Copy protection punishes the user by inconveniencing them.

Lotus Jazz employed a very complicated protection scheme that was virtually impossible to crack. As such, those who were able to duplicate and archive this program many moons later are masters at the art of software preservation! I salute you! For For Jazz users though, making backups of the main disc was impossible, and if the main disc became corrupted, then it was game over. Your $595 ($1,414 in 2019 when adjusted for inflation) investment just went down the drain. Sucks to be you (Lotus Jazz users in 1985)!

Other Issues

Speaking of the price, $595 was a whole lot of money to charge for a program, especially in 1985. The whole purpose of integrated software was to offer a suite of scaled-back programs at a reduced price, so charging a high price is contradictory to the whole concept of integrated software. Their idea of "budget" was far of reach for many users. 

Jazz was also very demanding on the Macs of the time as they required a lot of memory in order to run. Jazz was very bloated for an integrated software program.

Now one can't fault Lotus Software for not making provisions for a hard-disk install. One also has to remember that hard-drives on the Mac weren't a thing yet. Hard-drives didn't become an option for Mac users until the introduction of the Mac Plus in 1986. Thus, one would have to become a "disc-jockey" and swap those images in order to make the program work. This isn't as bad as the user was capable of using backup copies of their disc so that they can preserve the original, but this wasn't the case with Jazz.

Conclusion

The interesting thing was that at the time of development, both Lotus Software and Microsoft were in similar positions. They were defined by their DOS programs, and neither had prior experience building graphical applications. Yet, Microsoft went head-first into Mac development (they were very early developer after all). With the Mac ports of Word, Multiplan, Excel, and Works; Microsoft built a highly successful software portfolio that would define that platform for decades. Lotus Software was unable to replicate the same success that Microsoft did when it came to the Macintosh. Lotus Software didn't understand the Macintosh in the same way that Microsoft did. People were buying Macs so they could run Word and Excel. Their weren't people purchasing Macs so that they could use Jazz.

Lotus Jazz was a massive flop on the Mac. As such, Lotus Software never really gained a foothold on the Macintosh. While Lotus 123 for the Mac later came and was well-received, Excel already dominated that platform, and their was no room for a second player. Those who were expecting Lotus 123 would feel disappointment with Jazz. 

However, I'm very glad that this program has been preserved. Their is nothing that CAN'T be preserved, and the preservation of this program is still a monumental feat in my books! It was still a very important footnote in the evolution of the Macintosh and I'm very glad that I tried it out. I still wouldn't want to live in a world where Lotus Jazz didn't exist!

Switcher (Apple Folklore) https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Switcher.txt

Lotus Jazz (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Jazz


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